Coin-controlled clock



April 8, 1930. w, D, SHAFER 1,753,949

COIN CONTROLLED cLbcx Filed July 5, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet l April 8, 1930;

w. D. SHAFER COIN CONTROLLED CLOCK Filed July 5, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2April 8, 1930. w. D. SHAFER 1,753,949 com CONTROLLED dLocK Filed July 5,1927 3 Sheets-Skeet s zw'zgzewakr.

w iillll t 3 Ill 1 H I I I I I l I l II a in Z! 1 1 I u n Ill/IllPatented Apr. 3, 193% UNETEC STATES @FFEE I WILLIS D. SHAFER, OFCHICAGO, ILLIHOIS, ASSIGNOR TO SHAFEB-HALLIGAN-COMP- TON, INC, OFCHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS COKE-CONTROLLED CLOCKApplication filed July 5, 1927. Serial No. 203,549.

My invention relates to coin controlled clocks. and is intendedprimarily to be used in connection with coin savings banks-devices,frequently referred to as clock banks.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a simple and efficientsavings device so constructed that in order to wind the clock a coinmust be deposited, thus creating an in centive to periodic savin s Oneof the more specific objects is to provide an advantageous form oflocking device for preventin winding of the clock, which device may beunlocked only through the agency of a coin, thus making it necessary todeposit a coin before the clock can be wound.

Another object is to provide mechanism so constructed that the user may,if he wish, deposit a coin without winding the clock or withoutreleasing the lock.

Another object is to provide coin controlled mechanism the admissionslot of which is my coin-controlled clociz bank comprises a casing 2having a front opening in which.

normally closed to exclude dust and other foreign matter, and to compelthe one who would wind the cloclr to open the slot to receive the coinby means of a push button so that the coin is received and held in theright position for, winding without further actuation of levers. 7

Further objects of-niy invention are to provide a coin-controlledmechanism formed primarily of sheet metal of simple parts arranged to beeasily assembled within a clock casing of standard construction andoperable upon the winding shaft of the clock thereof so as to preventthe winding of the shaft unless coin is inserted; to provide a guard orshutter for preventing the coins from being removed whether by accidentor design after they have been deposited and to provide these and otherobjects of invention which will be apparent from a perusal of thefollowing specification when taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings wherein,

Figure 1 is a front view of the complete clock bank,

Figure 2 is a rear view thereof with the back plate oil,

Figure 3 is a view of the inside of the back plate,

Figure l is a perspective view of the spring detent for locking thewinding shaft,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view of the construction shown in Figure 3 butwith a coin in position,

Figure 6 is a rear view of the back plate,

Figure 7 is a side sectional view of the clock,

Figure 8 is a section on line 8-8 of Figure 7 Figure 9 is a section online 99 of Figure 7.

Figures 10, 11 and 12 are sectional views of the coin controlledmechanism for locking the winding shaft, the same being shown insuccessive positions of operation.

Referring now to the drawings in detail,

is mounted the face of the clock 4 provided with the usual winding stem6 projecting rearwardly thereof. In addition the clock has the usualfast and slow adjusting mechanism, controlled by the usual lever 7.

The bottom of the casing is closed by a sheet metal plate 8 having meansfor fastening to the casing. In addition thebottom plate is formed witha hole for the insertion of paper money when rolled into compact form. r

The clock is held in position within the cas in any desirable manner; inthe present instance I provide rear partition comprising a sheet metalplate 12 to which the rim 14 of theclock may be attached. This partitionis formed with lateral flanges 16 which in turn are fastened to theinside walls of the casing 2 so that the clock is effectivelypartitioned from the coin controlled mechanism hereinafter described.Ample room is provided beneath the clock within the casing for sage ofthe m as receiving and containing the accumulation of coins which areinserted in order to wind the clock. Partition member 12 is formed witha suitable number of apertures for the passetting stem 18, the windingstem (3, and the t and slow adjustment.

In the present instance the winding stem is shown as carried by a rearplate and as projecting inwardly therefrom and formed on its inner endwith an angular portion 22 adapted to be inserted within a correspondglyshaped bore of the winding mechanism of the clocl: not shown. On itsoutermost end he winding stem has he usual finger turna V In additionthe winding stem c with a detent mechanism, pref- 'n the form ofoppositely extending adapt d to be engaged by a cooperaclring mechanismcontrolled by a coin, ,sirable the stem 6 may be formed perianently as apart of the clock and project t-ut vardly through a hole in thepartition.

he detent or locking mechanism which enes t 1e pins 26 is preferablyformed as a resilient elonga'tes strip of metal which may 2e shapedshown in Figure 4, altho its form may, of course, be varied. It isfasten-ed at its lower end to the basal part of the casing 2 andpartition 12 and in a manner so that its upper end is resilientlypressed outwardly. in the form shown the strip 28 is shaped so that eventhough it is fastened to one side of the bottom of the partition 12, itsupper end extends opposite the winding aft which is locatedapproximately opposite the center line. of the partition. In order tosecure this disposition, the strip is cut to provide a lo ver lateral orinclined portion 30, an intermediate vertical portion 32 and an upperlaterally extending portion. The last mentioned portion is formed with aperforation 36 through which passes the winding Jhaft 6 and is alsoprovided with two adja- '-.-.ntly disposed and oppositely extending 23thor dctc ts 38 which are norn'lally disosed to enga e the pins 26 on thewinding ."haft. The vertical portion of the strip 28 is ormed with twolaterally bent lugs 40 arin spaced relation and projectable a 1 slots inthe par tition l2 and the strip bore these is bent outwardly as at as toproject through a relatively wide Ioaned in the partition plate 12. Asnoted the upper end of the strip 3 presses outwardly and the ses throughthe bore 36 a e {L DR.- :l at the teeth 38 engage the pins haft and holdit from rotation. is hence locked from winding movement.

Means are rnnvided for pressing the lateral lugs l0 of the dctcnt stripinwardly to force the upper end of the detent inwardly to release theteeth from the pins 26 on the shaft that the winding shaft may be eeswound. To this end the rear plate 20 is suitably punched or pressed outto provide an upper inset and a lower inset. The upper inset 4L6 isformed by punching or pressing the metal of the plate inwardly as shownin Figure 6 while the lower inset 48 is formed by pressing in the metalfrom the other direction. The intervening metal forms a horizontal ledgeor shelf 50 and I suitably slot this ledge to provide a coin-insert slot52. The lower inset is formed on its inner wall with two inwardlyextending stripper members preferably formed by soldering them to theinner face of the inset. Alternatively they may be formed by punchingthe metal in if desired.

I also provide a hand actuated coin moving member 5% for causing thecoin itself to press against the lugs 40 and bring about the releasingmovement of the strip 28 which controls the shaft 6. In the preferredembodiment this coin moving member comprises a metal strip 54 attachedat its base 56 to the back plate 20. At its upper end-the strip 54" isbent outwardly so as to project into the lower inset l8 and to lieparallel therein.

This outwardly bent strip portion is formed v on its inner face with twospaced slots 58 through which the stripper members 55 project. Inaddition the marginal portions of that portion of the coin moving member54 which is adapted to lie within the lower inset are formed withflanges 60 to provide a coin guide or pocket. The lower portions ofthese flanges converge inwardly to form a coin retaining poc ret. Theupper flange 62 is formed with a slot 64 to receive the cointherethrough and this flange corresponds in width to the horizontalledge between the upper and lower insets. lVhen the back plate 20 issecured in position so as to close the rear of the casing, the coinactuating member 54: lies opposite the lateral lugs 40 and the upperportion of the part- S lies within the lower inset, shown in Figure 10ot' the drawings. The front part of the upper flange 62 normally coversthe slot 52 of the horizontal ledge. The rearmost face of the coinactuating member 54 is provided with an outwardly projecting fingerpiece (i l which extends through a hole in the face of the lower insetl8 so that when the parts are in operative position shown in Figure 10and a coin is inserted in the slot 52 and the finger piece 64 is pushedinwardly the front flange 62 of the coin actuator will be moved inwardlyto uncover the slot 52 and the coin will then drop into posi tionopposite the pocket in the coin actuator 5-1 formed by the flanges 60,as shown in F ure 5 of the drawings. The stripper members 55 prevent thecoin from lodging within the pocket. Continued movement of the coinactuator inwardly then causes the coin to press inwardly the laterallugs 44- of the detent strip 28 to cause the teeth 38 to release Ill)the pins so that the stem may be wound. When the stem has beensufficiently wound the operator releases the finger piece 646" and thestrip 54 returns to position within the lower inset. At the same timethe projecting stripper members prevent the coin from coming into theseat formed by the flanges so that the coin is compelled to fall bygravity down into the bottom of the casing.

Means are provided for preventing the return of the coin through thecoin slot. This comprises the outwardly extending stationary flange 66on the partition member and a shutter 68 pivotally mounted on the sidewalls of the casing, This shutter 68 has an upstanding portion 70 whichengages a spring '52, the upper end of which is fastened to the rearface of the partition plate. The lower end of the spring passes throughthe stationary partition and resiliently presses against the upstandingportion 70 to keep the flange 68 in substantially horizontal position.lVhen a coin drops down the coin chute, the weight of the coin issu'llicient to press down the flange, whereas after the coin has passedtherebelow, the spring will hold the flange in raised position so thatthe coin can not pass back out of the storage chamber.

It will be seen that I have provided a simple construction of clock bankwherein most of the parts are made of sheet metal stampings and in amanner that they are readily assemblable in a clock casing ofpractically ordinary and standard construction. The de tent 28 isarranged in a simple manner to cooperate with the winding stem of theclock and eifectively to hold the stem in locked position until releasedby a coin inserted in the coin slot. I

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. A coin controlled clock having a casing provided with a storagereceptacle for the coins, clock mechanism, a lock for prevent ng thesame from being wound, said lock being adapted to be released whenpressed by a com, a hand controlled temporary receptacle for temporarilyholding a coin in posit on to press laterally upon the lock, and astationary ejector projecting into the temporary receptacle for ejectingthe coin therefrom when said temporary receptacle returns to non-actingposition.

2. In a device of the class described, a casing, a clock mechanismtherein having a winding member, a shiftable member for locking thewinding member, said casing having a coin slot, a shiftable coin guidehavmg a portion normally closing the coinslot and adapted to be moved topermit the insertion of the coin and the passage of the coin into theguide opposite the shift-able member, and means for actuating the coingulde.

8. In a device of the class described, a casing, a clock mechanismtherein having a winding member, a shiftable member for locking thewinding member, said casing having a coin slot, a shiftable coin guidehaving a portion normally closing the coin slot and having a slot, astripper adapted to project through the slot, said shiftable guide beingconstructed and arranged to be moved to permit the insertion of the cointhrough the slot and the passage of the coin into the guide 0pposite theshiftable member and the movement of the coin into contact with theshiftable member to actuate the latter, said stripper being operable tostrip the coin from the shiftable guide.

4:. In a clock bank, the combination of a casing a clock mechanismtherein having a winding stem, a sheet metal strip having a lockingmember ada ated to engage the stem to prevent turning thereof, saidstrip having integral lugs extending therefrom, a second sheet metalstrip attached'at its lower end to the rasing and having an upperportion forming a coin guide adapted to receive the coin and position itopposite the lugs of the first mentioned strip and means for shiftingthe second strip to press the coin into contact with said lugs toactuate the locking member.

5. In a clock bank, the combination of a casing, a clock mechanismtherein having a winding stem, a sheet metal partition en closing theclock mechanism within the casing and having an aperture through whichthe stem projects, a relatively long sheet metal strip disposed withinthe partition and having its upper end projecting through a slot in thepartition to a point outside of the partition adjacent the winding stemand having a lug projecting through another slot in the partition,cooperative lockingmechanism on said stem and the upper part of thestrip, a sheet metal back for the casing, a second sheet metal stripattached to said back and shiftable relatively thereto toward and fromthe lugs on the strip, said second strip forming a coin guide adapted toposition a coin adjacent the lugs and means for actuating the secondstrip toward the lugs projecting through the partition.

6. In a device of the class described, a clock Winding mechanism, meansincluding a shiftable member for controlling the opera tion of the clockwinding mechanism, a shiftable member formed to receive a coin, saidmember having a slot, a stripper arranged to project through said slotwhen in retracted position, means for moving said member to coinreceiving position and to a position in which the coin engages theshiftable clock winding control member.

7. A clock bank comprising a casing having clock mechanism arrangedtherein, a clock winding mechanism, a shiftable member for controllingthe operation of said clock Winding mechanism, a second shiftable memberformed to provide a coin rcceptacle, said sec ond shiftable memberhaving a slot, a stripper member adapted to project through said slotwhen the shi'ftable member is in retracted position and means foradvancing said member to a position in Which a coin deposited in saidreceptacle forms operative lateral engagement With said clock Windingcontrol member to shift the same to release the clock windingmechanismfor operation.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

WVILLIS D. SHAFER.

